Extending Wifi Range/ Second Router.

Old Perry

Hi, was wondering if someone could simplify this for me, I have been googling for a while and cant seem to get it to work.

So I have two routers, the main one, a upc cisco, has four ethernet ports in the back (no WAN) and connected to an aerial line in the wall (not a phone line). The second one, is an Edimax 3g, which i want to use just to extend the range.

I have found some helpful tutorials but they always differ on something or something is missing from the setup list on my end .Also the spot that needs the extension does get the net sometimes on and off, so it makes it tricky to tell if i have got it right or not.......

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

riclad

SEE here
http://www.wikihow.com/Connect-Two-Routers

you can buy 10 metre ethernet ,or 20metre cable,to connect the 2 routers.
in pc world, maplins or hardware stores.
or even plug the ethernet cable into the back of the tablet,pc, laptop upstairs.

CreepingDeath

There's a number of different ways to do this.
The simplest way is to physically wire both routers together as mentioned above.

But if you want to do it wirelessly, eg. you have your current setup upstairs and want to setup your 2nd router downstairs to repeat/extend/boost the signal, then that has a couple of options too.
You can have the 2nd router as a client to the first, but on it's own subnet, or you can have both routers on the same channel/network.

I spent a couple of nights trying the last option, getting two routers to connect wirelessly and use the same network ( so printers, scanners etc upstairs are still accessible downstairs ).
But gave up, and that's with two LinkSys 54G routers both running DD-WRT. And I'm an expert in I.T. / principal developer.

In your case, if you're not a techy, it's best to buy a consumer level device, like a WiFI repeater/extender for around €40.

davo2001

CreepingDeath wrote: »

There's a number of different ways to do this.
The simplest way is to physically wire both routers together as mentioned above.

But if you want to do it wirelessly, eg. you have your current setup upstairs and want to setup your 2nd router downstairs to repeat/extend/boost the signal, then that has a couple of options too.
You can have the 2nd router as a client to the first, but on it's own subnet, or you can have both routers on the same channel/network.

I spent a couple of nights trying the last option, getting two routers to connect wirelessly and use the same network ( so printers, scanners etc upstairs are still accessible downstairs ).
But gave up, and that's with two LinkSys 54G routers both running DD-WRT. And I'm an expert in I.T. / principal developer.

In your case, if you're not a techy, it's best to buy a consumer level device, like a WiFI repeater/extender for around €40.

Bridging in DDWRT is extremely easy. No offense but i doubt you are an expert in IT if you cannot get this to work.
On the second router disable DHCP, set a Static IP on the router within the same subnet as the first, set the wireless mode on the second to client bridge and match the channel, SSID, encryption and password -> Done.

CreepingDeath

davo2001 wrote: »

Bridging in DDWRT is extremely easy. No offense but i doubt you are an expert in IT if you cannot get this to work.

I'm not offensive but... :rolleyes:

I was trying to setup a repeater bridge, not a client bridge.

U_Fig

What I did was I have my router upstairs I use a powerline adapter connected to this and the second powerline adapter connect a router in bridging mode down stairs that transmits wireless so it keeps my signal string anywhere in the house

I'm not too knowledgable about necworks this worked with very little problems or configurations..

Only issue is that connected to downstairs for console gaming the NAT rating is closed.. Havn't tried to fix this issue tho its not a big problem

mpurdy27

I've been looking at the same thing. UPC/Cisco EPC3925 downstairs. Small hub upstairs that I want to replace with a Belkin router from my cupboard to extend wireless.

First, the powerline connections work a treat, have an upstairs/downstairs setup as people are discussing and use the powerline to connect the two locations. Have never had a moment's trouble with it. Used TP-Link connectors which are in PCWorld for a bit under €50. There are two versions - 200Mps/500Mps, make sure you go for the higher spec as the prices are pretty much the same (and you cannot mix & match) although TBH if your main purpose is wireless extension it probably doesn't matter as both are much faster than a Wifi connection.

Have a question though. I want to replace the small hub I have upstairs with the Belkin router to extend Wifi. Tried once, did all the required things, DHCP off, Static IP address/dynamic range set, SSID/encryption/password synched, UPnP off etc. System gets up and running but after a few days starts dropping devices and they are very hard to reconnect (older devices could not reconnect at all). In the end I gave up, eliminated the upstairs router and everything worked perfectly, except of course the extra range was gone.

One thing I did not synchronise was the channels - read some articles that said channels should be same on both routers, others said they should be different or it didn't matter. Anyone able to give a reason why either answer might be right?

Also any suggestions on what the cause of the dropoffs might have been? I also have a SONOS wifi network around the house on a different channel but I can't see how that would affect things.

Old Perry

davo2001 wrote: »

Bridging in DDWRT is extremely easy. No offense but i doubt you are an expert in IT if you cannot get this to work.
On the second router disable DHCP, set a Static IP on the router within the same subnet as the first, set the wireless mode on the second to client bridge and match the channel, SSID, encryption and password -> Done.

I actually got this working with riclad's wiki how and another couple of websites. I have done everything you have mentioned above (and then once it was working quickly left it alone) except for the static ip bit and subnet mask.

so you are saying if i set both routers to different ips but the same subnet mask, change the second router from router to bridge and i can remove the ethernet cable and hook it directly to the second laptop/desktop/device?

Also, not including the normal security key that you enter for any upc ssid, is there be any other security issues i should be concerned with ?

mpurdy27

Old Perry - the setup might work for a while and then cause trouble if you don't allocate a static IP address to the second router. If the primary router decides to allocate a new/dynamic IP address to it, then devices connected to the second router will get confused.

Overheal

Or if you really want to keep things simple, a new router. The new 802.11ac systems have been out for coming on a year now and the top-end routers are really something else in terms of range and bandwidth. Comparing an ac to an n connection in InSSIDer there is a stark contrast in signal stability, the increased bandwidth delivers an extremely steady-strength output, compared to N and G, which appear to fluctuate up and down, often dramatically.

http://www.asus.com/us/Networking/RTAC66R/

The best boy, here.

Kudos for the rig-up though. I wouldn't have had that type of patience OP